The New Arrival
by Naia Zifu
Summary: Haruka and Michiru adopt a kawaii new daughter! Pay attention; she's a recurring character. . .


The New Arrival  
by Naia Zifu  
  
Sister Kate thoroughly scrubbed my face and hands, and helped me out of my  
worn, dirty overalls and into a mint-green dress with prissy little ruffles. Of  
course, I was perfectly capable of washing and dressing myself, but Sister Kate  
refused to chance that on such an important occasion for fear I'd come out looking as  
tomboyish as usual.  
"There now, you look like a perfect little lady," she announced, clapping her  
hands in admiration of her own achievement, "but I'm afraid there's nothing I can do  
about your hair."  
"Nothing's wrong with my hair," I protested, running a hand through my  
closely-cropped pale-blonde hair self-consciously.  
For once the tall nun didn't argue, but just took my hand and said, "Iko,  
Nami-chan, let's go meet your new parents."  
Life had been idyllic for me for the first five years. My father had a high-  
paying corporate job that kept him away from home a lot, but paid well enough for my  
mother to stay home with me all the time, and whenever he travelled my father always  
brought back snow globes for me from all the places he'd stopped.  
I was a sweet, feminine girl at the time, owing to my mother's influence, with  
a wardrobe full of prissy dresses and a pink bedroom filled with all the pretty things  
of a little girl's dreams.  
Then, suddenly, my pretty little dream world was shattered. My mother took ill  
with a disease I was too young to understand and the doctors couldn't fix. My father  
took off from work and we both stayed by her bedside and tried to make her comfortable  
as she faded away over the course of a month. I was sitting with my mother, holding  
her hand and singing her a song, when she died. By then she was too weak to give the  
kind of beautiful deathbed speeches people always do in the movies. Indeed, there was  
nothing beautiful about her death at all. One minute she was alive, watching me  
through sleepy eyes and listening to my childish song, the next her eyes had closed  
for the last time and her heart monitor droned.  
I was too sad to cry then. I couldn't cry for days. Somehow mere tears, the  
same ones I cried when I skint my knee, seemed insufficient to mourn the woman who  
had always been the centre of my universe. I didn't know how I'd ever get along  
without her.  
After my mother died, my father took a lower-paying job with flexible hours so  
he could stay home more with me. Unfortunately, he knew nothing of raising a little  
girl, and was uncomfortable dealing with anything pink or frilly, so he dealt with me  
the only way he knew how. No sooner was my mother's body lowered into the ground  
than he'd cut off my waist-length blonde hair and replaced my dresses with boys'  
jeans and overalls. Ever after I became my father's little tomboy, and eventually I  
even came to prefer that new life.  
My father's parenting skills were far from perfect, and on his new salary he  
was barely able to make ends meet, but he did his best and I was able to have a  
relatively normal and happy life.  
The only scary part was that, in his grief over losing my mother, my father  
had taken up drinking heavily. I used to hide from him on the nights he'd come home  
drunk, knowing how physically and sexually abusive it made him, but I never really  
blamed him for such behaviour; I blamed myself. It seems silly in retrospect, but  
somehow every time he beat or raped me I convinced myself I deserved it as penance  
for what I'd let happen to my mother. After all, if I hadn't let her die my life  
would still have been perfect and none of those awful things would have happened.  
Come morning, my father would sobre up and apologise, and promise it would never  
happen again. Of course, despite his promises, it always did happen again, until  
that terrible, rainy night last October when he went out drinking and never returned.  
The doctors said death was instantaneous, that he probably never felt a  
thing, but because of the severity of the accident I was never allowed to see the  
body. They held a closed-casket ceremony and buried him beside my mother, the  
woman for whom he had lived and died.  
I didn't cry at my father's funeral any more than I had my mother's; I was  
still too numb with the realisation that at seven years old I was alone in the  
world, without even grandparents or kind aunts to take care of me.  
I was taken to an orphanage run by cheerful nuns who took good care of me,  
but had an annoying habit of trying to make me grow my hair, wear dresses, and  
act all ladylike. I resisted, of course, having come to like the tomboyish ways  
my father had forced upon me.  
"Such a shame, that," the sisters often said. "A pretty girl should be  
able to get adopted easily, but who would adopt a scrawny, dirty little tomboy  
like that?"  
I tried not to fidget too much, having become uncomfortable with dresses, as  
Sister Kate led me down a long corridor to the room where my new parents awaited.  
Time to see what kind of couple would be desperate enough to want a daughter as ugly  
and boyish as me. . .  
As I was brought into the room the couple seated there turned to look at me.  
They were both so attractive it made me feel even more self-conscious about my own  
looks. The man was tall and handsome, with unkempt sandy hair and friendly blue-  
green eyes, and his beautiful wife had aqua hair that cascaded to her shoulders like  
ocean waves and exotic deep-blue eyes that held a strangely heart-breaking look even  
though she was smiling. Why would such a beautiful couple want to adopt me, of all  
orphans?   
Sister Kate introduced us. "Unabara Nami, meet Ten'ou Haruka and Kaiou Michiru,  
the nice young couple who have agreed to be your new parents. Ten'ou-san, Kaiou-san,  
this is your new daughter Nami."  
"Oh Haruka, she's so beautiful!" the woman exclaimed. "She looks just like  
you! And 'Nami,' what a wonderful name, like the ocean. I love her already!"  
The man took his wife's hand and agreed, "I think she's even prettier in  
person than in the pictures. Just the perfect little girl we've been wishing for."  
I blinked in surprise. Beautiful? Me? The one the Sisters had been so sure  
was too ugly and tomboyish to get adopted? They must be joking, right? No way  
anyone who looked like them would find me beautiful!  
The man got up and approached me, but I hid behind Sister Kate's chubby legs.  
"No need to be shy, Nami-chan," he said soothingly, "you'll fit in with our  
little makeshift family just fine. I'll even let you call me Haruka-papa, like  
Hotaru-chan does, if you'd like."  
"Hotaru-chan?" I repeated, peeping out from behind the stocky nun's habit.  
"Who's that?"  
"A girl we've been raising in place of an old sensei," he replied. "I guess  
she's a bit older than you, but I'm sure you'll enjoy playing together nonetheless.  
And our friend Setsuna lives there, too. She's a nice lady, and she knows  
absolutely everything."  
"You must have a big house to have so many people living there and still have  
room for me," I noticed.  
He nodded and replied, "We have a big, beautiful house in the country with  
your own room all ready for you when you arrive. You'll like it there, Nami-chan,  
and I promise we'll be the best parents we can for you." He smiled in a goofy but  
charming way and added, "I, for one, intend to spoil you completely and give you  
everything a little girl could possibly want."  
"Haruka!" his wife scolded, causing him to flush and sweatdrop. Then to me  
she said, "You can call me Michiru-mama if you'd like. That's what Hotaru-chan  
calls me. But if it doesn't make you too uncomfortable, I've always wanted a  
little girl to call me just, 'Mama.' " She blushed becomingly at the admission.  
I smiled and nodded. "Okay, then, Mama and Papa it is. I hope my real  
parents won't mind. But I guess they'd want me to be with a nice family who'll take  
good care of me, and if it's a rich family with a papa who'll spoil me that's all  
the better, right?"  
"Unabara Nami," Sister Kate scolded, "haven't you learned by now that how much  
money someone has is no measure of their worth as a person? It's because Ten'ou-san  
and Kaiou-san seem like such kind, honest, decent young people that we felt they'd  
make good parents to you, not for how rich they are or how much they'll spoil you."  
"Gomen," I apologised in a fake sad voice, hanging my head to make it seem  
more sincere.  
Papa accepted my apology with a smile and offered a hug, which I hesitated  
before creeping out from behind Sister Kate to accept.  
But when he hugged me I noticed something strange about him--my new papa had  
_breasts._ I gasped at the realisation that this perfect couple was actually two  
women, but said nothing of it in front of Sister Kate for fear she'd turn down the  
adoption and I'd never get another chance at a family.  
It wasn't until we were safely outside and getting into Papa's yellow  
convertible that I brought the topic up, saying bluntly, "I know you aren't a real  
papa, because when you hugged me I noticed you had breasts, and real men don't have  
those, just women."  
"Chikusho. . .I knew I should have waited for that hug," Papa said, but  
admitted, "Yes, I am a woman, but it isn't like I go around pretending not to be.  
If someone asks my gender I always tell them I'm female. Most people just don't ask,  
and because of my looks and voice they assume I'm a man."  
"Well, maybe if you didn't have such short hair and wear boys' clothes," I  
began, then realised I was talking about myself as well and changed the subject.  
"I know you're both girls, but are you really in love or just pretending so you can  
keep me?"  
Both women's faces went entirely red. Finally it was Mama who replied shyly,  
"Yes, Nami-chan, Haruka and I are very much in love. Does that bother you?"  
"A little," I admitted, "but I'll try to get used to it. I guess it makes  
sense only a couple of freaks would want to adopt a freak like me."  
"I don't think any of us are freaks, Nami-chan," Papa opined. "We're just  
different, that's all. There's nothing wrong with that. Michiru and I are just  
like any other two people in love, except we just happen to both be women. And  
there's nothing wrong with your being a tomboy, either, Nami-chan. We love you  
just the way you are."  
I laughed at her, perhaps a bit mockingly. "Coming from another tomboy, and  
a gay one at that, somehow that doesn't sound too comforting."  
"I hope this attitude of hers is just for show," Mama said to Papa. "The  
Sisters at the orphanage said Nami-chan was a sweet and cheerful little girl. If  
she turns out otherwise we might have to take her back for an exchange."  
I shrunk down into my seat and resolved to be good from then on, not knowing  
whether she was joking or not, but unwilling to chance it.  
I sat quietly watching the scenery go by for a while before my next question  
occurred to me.  
"I hope this isn't a silly question," I began, "but now that I'm going to  
belong to you, am I still going to have the same name, or will I have to change it  
to one of yours instead? And if so, which one?"  
"You can keep your own name if you like," Mama replied, "but if you want we  
can have it changed to seem more like a real family. Lately I've been thinking about  
doing that myself." She sighed heavily. "The only bad thing about Haruka's and my  
relationship is we can never legally marry and have a family together like most  
couples, so the only way I'll ever become 'Mrs. Ten'ou Michiru' is to have it legally  
changed on my own."  
"Then I guess I'm the daughter you could never have together," I thought aloud.  
"But couldn't you have gotten pregnant artificially?"  
"I want to so badly, but Haruka says she doesn't want some strange man's  
sperm swimming around inside her fiancee. I told her it isn't as bad as all that,  
but. . ."  
"Fiancee?" I repeated, blinking stupidly. "But I thought since you're both  
girls you can't get married."  
"Not legally, no, but Haruka's asked me to marry her symbolically," she  
replied, and showed me her ring, which was shiny gold with a big diamond set between  
two smaller blue-green stones. "We're having our commitment ceremony next month,  
and I'd love for you to participate. How would you like to be our Flower Girl?"  
I frowned at the idea, knowing Flower Girls always have to wear prissy dresses  
and flowers in their hair, and carry dainty baskets of petals to drop along the aisle.  
"Can't I be the Ring Bear instead?" I asked. "They get to wear little tuxedos  
and be in charge of not losing the wedding rings, right? That sounds way more  
important than just dropping stupid flower petals all over."  
Mama laughed and replied, "Of course you can be our Ring Bearer, Nami-chan.  
I'm sure you'll look adorable in a little tuxedo, eh, Haruka?"  
"A child after my own heart," Papa said. "I can see we'll get along  
perfectly."  
"Are we almost home yet?" I asked impatiently. "It feels like we've been  
driving forever."  
"Almost, almost," Papa replied. "We'll be there in a few minutes, and then  
you can meet the rest of your new family."  
"I'm going to meet my new family! I'm going to meet my new family!" I  
repeated to myself in my excitement. "And live in a big house with my own room  
again, and a girl papa who'll spoil me, and. . ." I looked down at my clothes and  
decided, "I can't meet my new family dressed like this--they'll think I'm some kind  
of _girl_ or something."  
I rummaged through the duffel bag that held the few toys and outfits I'd been  
allowed to keep at the orphanage and selected a striped T-shirt and blue overalls,  
then proceeded to change into the new outfit in the moving car without even removing  
my safety belt. My dress nearly flew right out of the convertible when I took it  
off, but I caught it just before it could and stuffed it back into the bag. I should  
have just let it go so I'd never have to wear it again, but I knew I'd probably get  
in trouble if I did. I still refused to wear dresses again, though. I'd just have  
to think of other ways to get out of it in the future. . .  
Soon Papa ordered me to close my eyes so I wouldn't see my new house until we  
got there, so I obediently covered them until the car stopped and Papa said it was  
okay to look.  
I gasped with amazement at the size of the place and asked in a near-whisper,  
"Am I really going to get to live here? It's so big, just like a castle!"  
Mama picked up my bag and Papa picked me up, and we started towards the big  
house.  
"Iko, Nami-hime-chan," Papa said with a laugh, "your castle awaits."  
Everything was dark when we went inside, and I thought maybe no-one was home,  
but when Papa found the light switch and turned it on, the room was decorated for a  
party and full of people who shouted, "Surprise!"  
A moment later a confused woman's voice said, "I thought Haruka-chan said  
they were adopting a little girl."  
Mama said with a giggle, "Kazashi-mama, this is our new daughter, Unabara  
Nami, and, um, she _was_ wearing a dress when we picked her up. . . Nami-chan,  
what did you do with that pretty green dress you had on?"  
"I took it off in the car," I answered. "I didn't want to meet my new  
family looking like some prissy girl." I looked around bemusedly at the crowd of  
people gathered there and asked, "Who are all these people?"  
Papa put me down, declaring me too big to hold so long, then took my hand  
and led me around for introductions.  
"This is your new sister, Tomoe Hotaru," she said, indicating a girl not  
much taller than me but looking a few years older, who was dressed all in black  
and had bobbed black hair, big purple eyes, and skin as white as snow.  
Hotaru smiled and greeted me cheerfully. "Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama  
told me so much about you, Nami-chan. I'm so glad to finally meet you. After the  
party I'll show you around the house, okay? I'm sure you'll like it here just as  
much as I do."  
Next Papa introduced me to a tall woman with dark skin, green-black hair all  
the way past her knees and worn partly in a bun, and strangely red eyes. "This is  
our friend Meiou Setsuna. Like I said, she knows _everything. . ._she just can't  
tell you much of it. . . And _never_ ask her age--she hates that."  
"You can call me Setsuna-auntie if you'd like," she offered. "Hotaru-chan  
calls me Setsuna-mama, but I don't think your new parents would approve of your  
doing so, too."  
"It's okay, one new mama is enough for me," I replied, "and Setsuna-auntie  
sounds nicer anyway."  
Setsuna replied, "Yes, I guess it does at that. Nami-chan, you're every bit  
as kawaii as I expected. It's an honour to meet you. Remind me to get your  
measurements later."  
"Huh? Measurements?" I asked, but Papa was already moving on to the next  
introductions.  
"Nami-chan, this is my mama and papa, your new grandparents, Kazashi and  
Masato," Papa said, indicating a tall, well-dressed couple.  
The woman had sandy hair like Papa's, except long and worn up, icy-blue  
eyes, and lots of shiny gold jewellery. The man had thinning brown hair and a  
moustache, and his eyes were a friendly green with little yellow specks.  
Obaa-san apologised, "Gomen, I didn't mean to mistake your gender a moment  
ago. You really are a lovely little girl. I just expected someone a little  
more. . .erm. . .feminine. . .I guess I should've known my Haruka-chan would pick  
out another tomboy."  
Ojii-san added, "We're glad to have you in the family, Nami-chan, no matter  
what you look like."  
"Where are your mama and papa?" I asked Mama. "I don't see any other old  
people around who look like you."  
"My parents?" Mama said, a sad look on her face. "My parents couldn't make  
it today, Nami-chan."  
"Then can I meet them another day?"  
"Another day?" she repeated. "I don't think so, Nami-chan."  
"Doshite? Do you think they won't like me?" I asked, close to tears. "Are  
you ashamed of me 'cause I look like a boy?"  
Mama knelt down and hugged me, and stroked my hair as I began to cry on her  
shoulder.  
"It's not that at all, Nami-chan. I've said what a beautiful little girl you  
are and how much I love you already, haven't I?" Mama said. "The reason my parents  
aren't here is because they're ashamed of me. It has nothing to do with you, I  
promise."  
I sniffled and raised my head, tears still in my eyes. "Why would they be  
ashamed of you? You're so nice and pretty and ladylike."  
"My parents don't approve of my relationship with Haruka," she replied.  
"Because of that, they've wanted nothing to do with me for years. I did call them  
to tell them about the engagement and the adoption. I thought maybe knowing we were  
getting 'married' and giving them a grandchild would help change their minds, but  
it didn't. They just don't want me in their lives anymore as long as I'm in love  
with a woman, and as much as it hurts I have to try to accept that."  
"You must really, really love Papa if you still want to be with her when  
your parents told you not to," I noticed.  
Mama nodded. "Yes, Nami-chan, I love her more than life itself."  
Papa blushed at that and hid her face shyly, which was kawaii but weird  
coming from someone like her.  
"Mama, it doesn't bother me anymore that you're both girls," I said  
soothingly, even though it still did just a little. "As long as you're happy and  
in love, that's all that matters. And I don't care if I never meet your mean old  
parents as long as I live! If they don't want you anymore, I don't want them,  
either, okay?"  
Mama smiled through the beginnings of tears and gathered me up in another  
hug. "I'm glad you don't mind our relationship anymore. You don't know how much  
that means to me. I'd hate to think you'd feel uncomfortable with your new family  
in any way."  
I kissed her cheek and promised, "I won't, Mama. I'll just love you and be  
proud of you forever, no matter what your stupid old parents think." The assembled  
crowd aww-ed the pretty scene, causing me to wonder, "I know all my new family, now,  
but who are all these other people?"  
Papa resumed the introductions, taking me next to a tall, thin man with neat  
black hair, big brown eyes, thick glasses, and little freckles across his nose and  
cheeks.  
"Nami-chan, this is my best male friend in the whole world, Kobayashi  
Urano," Papa said. "I've known him since I was about your size."  
"Wow," I said in awe, and tried to imagine my tall papa at my size, which  
came out looking more SD than childlike, and I imagined her friend SD as well so  
they could play on the seesaw together, "you two must've known each other a  
_really_ long time, then!"  
Urano laughed. "Nothing like a young child to make you feel old, eh,  
Haruka-chan?" he said, then said to me, "You know, you remind me so much of  
Haruka-chan when she was your age, though at the time she would've killed to look  
as boyish as you. . ."  
"Papa didn't always look like that?" I asked, and tried to imagine my little  
SD papa with long braids tied in pink ribbon and a frilly pink dress on, but  
couldn't.  
Urano started to answer, but Papa interrupted, "That's quite enough out of  
you on that subject, Urano-kun. Nami-chan does have other guests to meet."  
Papa led me to a short girl with big blue eyes and blonde hair that looked  
like it would reach the floor if it weren't put up. She wore her hair in little  
round buns resembling odango, that had long ponytails hanging down from them.  
Standing with her was a tall man with black hair and gentle blue eyes, who had his  
arm around the blonde girl's waist.  
"This is Tsukino Usagi, and her fiance Chiba Mamoru, the luckiest man  
alive," Papa said. Then as an aside to Usagi she added, "If I'd just met you  
before Michiru I might've been the 'groom' at your wedding instead of having to  
settle for 'best man.' "  
Mamoru threatened, "Keep flirting with my fiancee and you won't even get  
that, Haruka-san. You've got a perfectly lovely fiancee of your own to flirt with  
all you want, you know."  
Papa laughed. "I know, and I do, but you know me, Mamoru-san, I'm nothing  
if I don't try."  
"Well, you can try being a little less persistent," he complained.  
"Gomen," Papa apologised, with an embarrassed look.  
Usagi bent down to pat my head. "Aww, look at her, Mamo-chan, she's so  
kawaii!" she exclaimed. "She looks just like a little SD Haruka-san!"  
"Hey, I'm not deformed!" I protested. "I'm just a little girl. I can't help  
it if I'm small!"  
"No, of course you're not deformed," Usagi said. "You just look so much like  
a little Haruka-san it made me think about SD. . .er, no, that didn't come out right,  
either. . . Well, you know what I mean."  
"And you look just like Sailor Moon," I noticed. "I bet it takes you a  
really long time to wash your hair and fix it up in the mornings."  
Usagi looked surprised and babbled, "No, I don't look a bit like Sailor Moon,  
really! Sailor Moon is, um, well, she's taller in person, and way prettier than me,  
too, and she's got these big wings, you know, really big wings, and. . .and I don't  
think Sailor Moon is even a real blonde, do you?"  
Papa interrupted, "Let's meet some of your other guests, okay, Nami-chan?"  
She indicated a sweet-looking girl with big, almost sad-looking blue eyes and short  
blue hair. "This is Mizuno Ami, the genius girl who's at the top of her class at  
med school and next year is going to intern at the hospital in town."  
"A pleasure to meet you, Nami-chan," Ami said. "I'm thinking about going  
into paediatrics, actually, so I can help adorable little kids like you. Have you  
thought about what you want to be when you grow up?"  
"Yes, I want to be a teacher and an architect and a vet-getarian and an  
opera singer and a starship captain and a Sailor Senshi!" I announced. "But most  
of all I just want to get married and have a baby to love and take care of forever.  
Is that silly? Hey, did you notice our names are almost the same? Nami and Ami,  
we're almost like twins!"  
"Yes, our names do rhyme, you're very observant to notice that. I'm sure a  
bright girl like you can grow up to be anything you like."  
I giggled and pointed out, "I notice something else about you, Ami-san,  
you've got a cat on your head."  
She took the black cat off and showed her to me. "Her name is Luna, and  
actually she's Usagi-chan's cat, but she spends so much time with me sometimes it's  
hard to tell. You can pet her if you like."  
I petted Luna's little head with its strange little moon-shaped bald place,  
then she mewed and jumped up on top of my head, so I told her, "Okay, you can stay  
up there for a little while, but if you make a poo-poo on me I swear I'll never pet  
you again!"  
Next Papa led me over to a pretty girl with dark hair longer than her skirt,  
I couldn't decide whether it was purple or black, and big purple eyes that slanted  
upwards prettily.  
"This is Hino Rei, a Shinto priestess at the Hikawa Jinja," Papa said.  
"A real live priestess here in my house? Kakkoii!" I cried. "And such a  
pretty Shinto priestess, too. The only other priestess I ever saw was the old,  
pruny one my old mama used to take me to on holidays when I was little. I didn't  
know priestesses were allowed out of their temples."  
"Of course we are, Nami-chan," Rei said cheerfully. "Shinto priestesses are  
people just like everyone else. Just treat me like you would any other friend,  
okay? You can even call me Rei-chan if you want."  
"No, that's okay, I don't want to be misrespectful or anything," I replied.  
"I'll just call you Rei-san. Or Rei-sama? Yeah, that's it. Nice to meet you,  
Rei-sama." I even gave a respectful little bow before moving on just to be  
extra-safe.  
"This is Kino Makoto," Papa said of a pretty girl with a brown ponytail,  
big green eyes, and pink rose-shaped earrings, "but her friends just call her  
Mako-chan. She's great; pretty, strong, athletic, and an excellent cook to boot."  
"You have really pretty earrings, Makoto-san," I said.  
"Arigato," Makoto replied. "You can try them on if you want to."  
She took them off and handed them to me, and I forced the posts through the  
nearly-closed holes in my earlobes, which hadn't worn earrings since before my  
mother got sick. I smiled triumphantly once I'd gotten them through and fastened  
the clasps. I hadn't even known whether I could still wear earrings.  
"How do I look?"  
"Like a lovely little princess," Makoto replied. "I'll let you borrow them  
for tonight and give them back to me when I go home, okay?"  
"Okay," I replied, and hugged her. "Arigato, Makoto-san."  
Finally, Papa introduced me to a girl with blonde hair at least as long as  
Rei's and tied back in a big red bow, big blue eyes, and a white cat also with a  
weird moon-shaped bald spot sitting on her shoulder.  
"This is Aino Minako, terror of the volleyball court, and future pop idol,  
if she has any say in it," Papa said.  
"Hey, you look like Usagi-san," I noticed, "and you have a kitty cat just  
like hers, too. Are you twins?"  
Minako giggled. "No, but sometimes I wonder if we're not somehow related  
and just don't know it yet. People tell us we look alike all the time, and we  
even had similar study habits in school, I'm afraid."  
I petted her cat's head and said, "I'd ask to hold you, but you might want  
to jump on my head, too, and it's full up there already. Maybe later. What's your  
cat's name, Minako-san?"  
"His name is Artemis," she replied, "which is odd because Artemis was a  
goddess in Greek mythology, but you know what they say, 'a rose by any other name  
still has its thorns.' "  
"No, it's 'a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,' " a male voice  
corrected.  
I looked around for who might have said that, but didn't see anyone else  
there. I looked back at Minako, who smiled goofily and shrugged.  
Suddenly Papa took me into the kitchen, insisting it was time to eat cake  
and open presents.  
The cake was big and chocolatey, with "Welcome, Nami-chan!" written across  
the top in white frosting and little white and blue flowers all around the sides.  
If it had only had candles it would've seemed just like a birthday cake, but as  
long as it was chocolate I didn't care what was on the top.  
"I baked this cake especially for you, Nami-chan," Makoto said. "It's  
chocolate all the way through, with marble swirls of fudge. I hope you like it."  
She cut a large piece and set it in front of me, then turned around to look  
for a fork to eat it with, but when she returned with the fork my cake was already  
gone. Its only evidence left was a few crumbs on the plate and the chocolate on  
my fingers and around my mouth, that I was already working on licking off.  
"O-kay, I guess that means she likes it. I should just put the fork on  
the plate first next time," Makoto said. "Now who else would like a piece?"  
Watching everyone else eat their cake made me wish I hadn't eaten mine so  
quickly, but since the cake had all been divided I had to be content with picking  
off stray crumbs and bits of frosting from the plate. When I'd run out of stray  
crumbs and frosting I put my plate in the dishwasher like a good girl and stood on  
tiptoe to reach the faucet to wash off my face and hands. Then I returned to the  
table and tried to wait patiently for the presents.  
After everyone had finished their cake Mama gathered the dirty dishes and  
put them in the washer as well, and once the table was clear the presents finally  
came out.  
"Open this one first, Nami-chan," Hotaru insisted. "It's from me."  
I tore off the shiny but poorly-wrapped paper and tried to find a way into  
the box inside. Failing to find the real opening, I just found a seam and made a  
new one. Smiling up from inside, nestled in a bed of colourful tissue paper, were  
two of the sweetest Uranus and Neptune nuigurumi I'd ever seen.  
"Kawaii!" I squealed, and hugged the dollies, then thanked and hugged my new  
sister for giving them to me.  
"Here's your present from me, Nami-chan," Makoto said, and handed me a big,  
well-wrapped box. "I used to have one of these as a girl myself."  
From such a big box I expected something wonderful, but it was just an  
Easy-Bake Oven. I tried to hide my disappointment by saying cheerfully, "Now I  
can make a chocolate cake for you, too!" I thanked her politely, but was eager to  
get on to better presents.  
Inside Ami's box was just some books she said would help me get ahead in  
school and a calculator I played with a bit by randomly pushing buttons to see how  
big a number I could make. Minako's box held manga I couldn't read well enough to  
understand yet, so mostly I just looked at the pictures. A gift picked out by  
Usagi (that Mamoru had just signed the card of, too) was a gigantic, fluffy  
stuffed toy cat that bore a passing resemblance to Luna but without a moon on its  
forehead. Rei gave me a great toy drum I enjoyed making up a song for everyone on  
until Papa insisted I put it away for a while and open quieter presents. Papa's  
friend Urano offered a box almost as long as my arm, which made me excited but  
cautious, considering my last big box had just been an Easy-Bake Oven. I quickly  
opened the fairly well-wrapped box and found inside a yellow radio-controlled  
racecar.  
"It's made to look just like Haruka-chan's," he pointed out. "See, these  
are all her real sponsor logos and everything."  
"I didn't know you drove a racecar, Papa," I said in awe. "Will you take me  
for a ride in the real one someday?"  
"Well, I don't think Michiru would want me driving you around in it," she  
began. "She gets nervous enough when I'm driving it alone. But I can take you to  
see it one day, I'm sure she won't mind that."  
Urano announced, "Haruka-chan used to be one of the most popular and  
successful young racers in Japan before she gave it up, you know. I'm glad she  
finally took it back up again. I'm sure she'll be the top racer in the country by  
this time next year if she keeps going as she is."  
"Wow, I didn't know my new papa was a famous racecar driver! Now I'll have  
something to brag about when school starts in the fall!" I said.  
"Don't forget Michiru's a famous painter and violinist as well," Papa  
pointed out. "It's only fair you should brag about her, too."  
"Both my new parents are rich and famous? Kakkoii!" I exclaimed.  
"Arigato, Urano-san. Even though I don't usually like racecars I'll love and  
play with this one 'cause it's Papa's."  
Setsuna gave me a big but flat box and said, "I made this for you myself,  
Nami-chan, because I knew how much you've wanted one."  
I tore open the box as quickly as possible and squealed with delight to  
find a child-sized Sailor fuku in Uranus' navy and yellow.  
"Oh, Setsuna-auntie, it's wonderful!" I cried, and pounced on her with such  
a big hug she could hardly breathe. "Arigato gozaimasu! How did you know I  
wanted one of these?"  
Setsuna just smiled mysteriously.  
"I want to go try it on right now!" I said, and hopped out of my chair.  
But before I could run off Obaa-san said, "Matte, you haven't opened our  
present yet."  
"Okay," I agreed, and accepted the little box she gave me.  
I opened the pretty, sparkly paper and found inside a velvety jewellery  
box. Inside that was a pair of sapphire earrings with a necklace to match. They  
weren't fancy, just the blue stones alone in a simple setting, but since I'd never  
owned real jewels before they seemed like the most beautiful things in the world.  
"Ooh, they're so pretty and sparkly!" I exclaimed. "Arigato, Ojii-san,  
Obaa-san, I love them!"  
Obaa-san sighed with relief. "I'm glad you like them, Nami-chan. I was  
afraid when I saw how boyish you looked you wouldn't want jewellery."  
"I like anything that sparkles," I replied, and gave Makoto back her rose  
earrings to try on the sapphires. I couldn't figure out the clasp of the necklace  
myself, so Obaa-san put it on for me. "This must've cost a lot, didn't it?"  
"No, this is just a little something to hold you over until your birthday,"  
she answered. "I'll find something much more special for you then, I promise."  
The other guests' jaws dropped at the statement, but Papa just said with a  
shrug, "My parents have always liked giving expensive gifts. I got real jewellery  
like that all the time when I was little."  
That was met with a chorus of, "lucky you," and, "I wish I had your  
parents," from the other girls.  
Mama showed me how I looked in an ornate golden mirror she seemed to pull out  
of nowhere, and I was admiring the way the stones glittered in the light when  
something strange happened. Just for a moment the reflection changed and I thought  
I saw a girl in a fuku instead, but when I blinked the reflection was back to normal.  
I figured it was just my excitement to try on the fuku Setsuna made for me, even  
though the mirror girl's had been coloured differently, and said nothing of it to  
Mama or the others.  
"If that's all the presents, can I go try on my fuku now?" I asked.  
"Of course," Mama replied. "I'll show you up to your room and help you  
change in there."  
I took Luna off my head and gave her back to Ami, then Mama led me upstairs  
and down the hall a bit, to a room with my name on the door in blue. The walls  
inside were blue, too, like the sky, and the room was full of white furniture and a  
bed with a lacy white canopy.  
"Do you like it, Nami-chan?" Mama asked anxiously. "Haruka and I fixed it up  
especially for you."  
I nodded. "It's beautiful, Mama! I haven't had a room of my own in so long.  
They make you sleep with lots of other kids in the orphanage, you know. Even the  
room I had at my old house wasn't as nice as this, though. It was littler, and  
everything was pink," I said, and made a face. "I used to like pink when I was  
little, but not anymore. Pink is for prissy girls."  
"I'm glad you like your room, Nami-chan," she said. "Now, let me help you  
out of those overalls and into your nice new fuku, okay?"  
Although, of course, I could have done it myself, I let Mama help me anyway  
just because she seemed so intent on it.  
"Mama, how did Setsuna-auntie know I wanted an Uranus fuku if she never even  
met me before today?" I asked.  
"Ara, Setsuna knows lots of things, Nami-chan. It's better not to ask how  
or why."  
"I think it would be exciting to meet the real Sailor Uranus, don't you,  
Mama?"  
"Yes, I hear she's quite lovely," she replied with a giggle.  
"And Sailor Neptune is pretty, too, don't you think?"  
"Well, I'd imagine they all are, Nami-chan."  
"Yeah," I agreed. "My favourite Senshi used to be Sailor Venus when I was  
little. People used to tell me I looked like her until my old papa cut my hair  
short. Then I had to play Sailor Uranus instead. I used to not like that until  
I found out how neat Uranus really is. Do you think I look like Sailor Uranus,  
Mama?"  
"A bit," she agreed. "Much closer to Uranus than Venus, I think, and not  
just because of the hair."  
"My hair is shorter and blonder than Uranus' anyway," I said with a shrug.  
"I used to get mad 'cause the other kids said Sailor Uranus is gay and I was gay  
for playing her. Do you think Sailor Uranus is gay?"  
"I think it doesn't matter whether she is or not, it wasn't nice of the  
other kids to call you names either way. Resembling and playing at a lesbian  
Senshi wouldn't necessarily mean you were a lesbian, too, of course."  
"I tried to tell them that, but they wouldn't believe me. They're so mean  
sometimes," I complained. "Mama, has anyone ever told you you look like a Senshi?"  
"Um, no, I can't recall that they have."  
"Well, I think you do. I think you look like Sailor Neptune 'cause you're  
so graceful and beautiful, and you have pretty green hair like hers, too. I  
always thought Sailor Neptune is the prettiest Senshi of all."  
"Then I guess I should be flattered you think I resemble her," Mama said  
shyly.  
"I think more than just that, Mama," I added cautiously. "I think maybe  
you really _are_ Sailor Neptune."  
Mama stopped and stared at me, a surprised look on her face, and asked,  
"What makes you think I might be Sailor Neptune?"  
" 'Cause like I said, you look just like her, and you're in love with Papa,  
who's a tall girl with short blonde hair like Sailor Uranus, and your friends look  
kind of like Sailor Senshi, too, especially Usagi-san, and you even showed me your  
special mirror just like Sailor Neptune's. You are her, aren't you? And all  
those other girls downstairs, they're Sailor Senshi, too, right? I know with that  
hair Usagi-san's just got to be Sailor Moon. You can tell me, I promise not to  
tell."  
"It's just like Ami-chan said, you're an incredibly bright and observant girl,  
Nami-chan," Mama said with a sigh. "You're right about everything. But you can't  
tell anyone no matter who it is and how much you trust them, not even to brag in  
school. Brag all you want about having a famous racer and violinist as parents,  
but not a word about knowing Sailor Senshi, you promise?"  
"I promise. But can I at least tell the Senshi I know who they are? That  
wouldn't be telling secrets, would it? And I have so much I want to ask them."  
"I guess there isn't much harm in that," she decided, "but you'll have to  
wait until Haruka's parents leave, because they don't know."  
"Okay."  
Mama zipped up the back of my fuku and fluffed up the bows, then fastened  
the blue choker around my neck. There were little gloves for me to put on, too,  
but no little blue boots. I guess they were just too hard for Setsuna to find or  
make copies of. I was still wearing the sapphire necklace and earrings my new  
grandparents had given me, too, but since I didn't even have any gold hoop  
earrings and the blue stones looked fine with the fuku anyway, I didn't complain.  
Mama complimented, "You make a wonderful Chibi-Uranus, Nami-chan. Here,  
look for yourself."  
She showed me my reflection in the full-length mirror on my closet door.  
The fuku fit as if it were tailored just for me, but if Setsuna didn't have my  
measurements yet, that couldn't be possible, could it? Anyway, even though I  
still didn't feel comfortable in a skirt, I decided to make an exception in that  
case because it wasn't just any old skirt, and after all, I'd only be wearing it  
to play anyway. Surely I could put up with it just that long. It was a pretty  
authentic-looking fuku, too, and it did look kind of good, even though I knew I  
could never be as pretty as the real Sailor Uranus. . .  
"Let's go downstairs and show Papa!" I insisted, and nearly dragged Mama  
back downstairs.  
When we got back everyone was sitting around the living room listening to  
my new grandparents tell stories of Papa when she was my size, with Papa  
interrupting every once in a while to deny something or ask them to stop, but they  
went on anyway.  
". . .and then when we found the cat the next morning under Haruka-chan's  
bed, his fur was purple!" Obaa-san was saying.  
"Oh, the cat wasn't hurt, of course, since she'd only dyed him with Kool-Aid,  
but no matter how many times we bathed him the purple wouldn't come out," Ojii-san  
continued. "Finally we just had to let it wear off, but until it did we were too  
embarrassed to let him out of the house at all."  
"And when we asked Haruka-chan why she did it, she just gave us this pitiful  
little look and whined, 'I was only trying to make him pretty!' and she was so  
kawaii we didn't have the heart to punish her," Obaa-san finished.  
Papa protested, "I'm sure I didn't whine, Mama. I never whine. And it  
wasn't Kool-Aid I dyed him with, either. It was grape juice."  
"Either way, it was funny, dear," Obaa-san replied.  
Ojii-san began, "And do you remember the time Haruka-chan thought there  
were ghost owls in the attic because the wind whistled through that crack in the  
window?"  
"Don't talk about ghost owls in front of Nami-chan," Papa said, "you'll put  
ideas in her head."  
"It's okay, I want to hear about it," I insisted. "I want to know all  
about Papa when she was my size."  
Ojii-san pulled out his wallet. "I think I still have a picture or two of  
Haruka-chan as a child in here," he said. "Unfortunately, she's since destroyed  
most all the others. Here we go, see how pretty Haruka-chan was as a little girl?"  
"She still is," Mama said, and kissed Papa on the lips right in front of  
everyone.  
To look at those pictures, I'd hardly even believe it was the same person if  
he hadn't told me. She didn't even look like a real little girl, but like a  
porcelain collector's doll displayed for visitors to look at, but never touch. I  
guess she looked kind of pretty, with make-up on like a little grown-up, fancy  
dresses, and carefully curled and styled long hair, but it was all too fake. She  
didn't look approachable, and even though she was smiling, she didn't look very  
happy that way, either.  
"Eew, you looked weird as a girl, Papa," I said, making a face. "I like  
you better how you are now."  
"Finally someone with taste," Papa said. "When he showed those to Michiru  
she said they were adorable and what a shame it was I'd destroyed the rest."  
"Well, you were a lovely little girl, Haruka," Mama argued. "There's no  
need for you to be ashamed of those pictures."  
"Don't worry, Papa, I understand. I wouldn't want anyone to see pictures  
of me looking like some prissy girl, either. It's embarrassing," I said.  
"Finally someone who understands," Papa said with a sigh of relief. "You  
and I are so alike, Nami-chan, it's almost uncanny."  
"Tell the one about the time Haruka made Jell-O in the toilet," Mama  
requested.  
Obaa-san looked at her watch and answered, "Maybe next time, Michi-chan,  
but I'm afraid we should be going now. It's a long ride home and Masato has an  
early meeting at work tomorrow." She hugged and kissed both Papa and Mama on the  
cheeks, and knelt down to kiss me on the top of my head. "We'll have to come over  
to visit more often now that we have such a sweet little granddaughter to spoil.  
And in between visits I want you to promise you'll take plenty of pictures and  
ring me up about every kawaii thing she does, okay?"  
"I will," Mama promised. "And you will both make it to our wedding next  
month, won't you?"  
"Oh, we wouldn't miss it for the world," Obaa-san replied. "I'd given up  
all hope of our Haruka-chan ever getting married until this, and even though I'd  
hoped for a more traditional arrangement, if this is the kind of life she wants,  
I'm glad she'll at least be spending it with someone like you. You're going to  
make such a beautiful bride!"  
Ojii-san picked me up and hugged me, then gave me a funny-feeling moustache  
kiss on my cheek.  
"For what it's worth, I don't think you look like a boy at all, Nami-chan,"  
he said reassuringly. "You're beautiful just as you are. Don't let anyone ever  
try to change you." He gave a pointed look at Obaa-san at that last remark.  
"Okay," I agreed.  
While still holding me with one arm, Ojii-san hugged Papa and Mama in turn  
with the other, and gave them funny moustache kisses on the cheeks as well. Then  
he handed me over to Papa and said, "Take good care of this little one, Haruka-chan.  
She's a very special little girl."  
Papa beamed proudly and answered, "I know."  
"And be careful in that racecar of yours, too, okay? I don't want to turn  
on the news one night to hear you've been in an accident," he added. "See you at  
the wedding."  
Once my new grandparents had left I hugged Papa and announced, "Did you hear  
that, Papa? Ojii-san thinks I'm a special little girl!"  
"Of course you are," Papa replied, setting me back on the floor again. "We  
wouldn't have chosen you if you weren't special."  
"I never used to think I was," I admitted. "I thought I must be a bad  
person to deserve all the awful things that happened to me, but I guess now there  
must be something special about me if Sailor Senshi want to be my parents."  
The whole room fell silent and I felt all eyes were on me. But I'd waited  
until after my new grandparents left before I mentioned it, just like Mama asked  
me to, so what was the problem?  
"Nami-chan, who said your parents were Sailor Senshi?" Ami asked.  
"Nobody told me, Ami-san. I guessed it myself, and when I asked Mama she  
told me I was right about everything. I knot my new parents are Sailor Uranus and  
Sailor Neptune."  
Mama said, "Yes, but you weren't supposed to say that yet, Nami-chan.  
Urano-san--"  
"It's okay, Michiru-san," Urano interrupted, "I've known about your and  
Haruka-chan's identities for years now."  
Mama and Papa seemed surprised by that, so I guessed they hadn't told him  
or even knew he knew.  
"I know all of you are Sailor Senshi, too," I said to the other girls. "I  
bet I can guess which ones you are. I knew Usagi-san was Sailor Moon the first  
time I saw her, since only Sailor Moon has hair like that. I'm sure Ami-san is  
Sailor Mercury, 'cause she's the only one with short blue hair like that. I guess  
Makoto-san is Sailor Jupiter, since she's tall and has a ponytail like Jupiter's.  
Rei-san must be Sailor Mars 'cause of her long dark hair and slanty eyes, and  
Minako must be Sailor Venus 'cause she has long blonde hair with a big red bow  
like Venus'. I guess Setsuna-auntie must be Sailor Pluto with all that green  
hair. . .but where's Sailor Chibi-Moon?"  
"She had to go back to the thirtieth century to be with her future family,"  
Usagi said. "Maybe someday she'll come back to visit again and you can meet her  
then. I'd hate to think I'll have to wait a thousand years to see her again.  
Even though we fight too much I still miss her when she's gone."  
"You've done pretty well so far, Nami-chan, but I'm afraid you've forgotten  
someone," Hotaru said.  
"Hotaru-chan, you're a Sailor Senshi, too?" I asked, surprised. I stared  
at her for a long time trying to figure out who I'd missed when suddenly it came  
to me, and I began to back away slowly. "S-Sailor Saturn? The Senshi of Silence  
is my new older sister?"  
Hotaru smiled and nodded cheerfully. "Yes, but don't worry, I would never  
use my powers unless there were no other choice, and I'm a very nice and friendly  
girl otherwise."  
"Then, you won't get me with your big, scary glaive and destroy the world?"  
"I promise never to get you with my big, scary glaive, Nami-chan," she  
answered, "and I'll never destroy the world unless it's absolutely necessary. Is  
that good enough?"  
"I guess so."  
"Of course, she probably shouldn't have gone around naming everyone like  
that," Urano said, "since the only ones I knew about were Haruka-chan and  
Michiru-san. But if I've kept their secret this long, and even they didn't know  
I knew, I guess I can be trusted with your secrets as well."  
Papa agreed, "If there's one thing Urano-kun is good at, it's keeping  
secrets. I don't think we'll have to kill him for knowing too much. . .yet"  
I was a little frightened by that remark, wondering if they really do kill  
people for telling their secrets, but since Urano laughed I guessed she must've  
been just joking. But since I didn't want to take the chance, I decided to be  
extra-careful not to tell their secrets in front of anyone else from then on.  
Hotaru grabbed my arm and insisted, "Iko, Nami-chan, time for me to show  
you around the house."  
"But I want to stay and talk to all the Sailor Senshi," I protested. "I  
have so many questions for them and I don't know if I'll ever see them again to  
ask, and--"  
"Don't be silly, of course you'll see them again," Hotaru interrupted.  
"The Sailor Senshi are almost like a big family, Nami-chan. We see each other all  
the time. But if I don't show you around the house before bedtime you'll get lost  
on your way to breakfast and never be heard from again."  
As big a house as it was, I didn't doubt that possibility, so I finally  
consented and let her drag me off on her detailed room-by-room tour. All the while  
she also gave helpful little tips like, "Always get your shower before  
Setsuna-mama's because she takes so long and uses up all the hot water washing her  
hair," "If you need something in the middle of the night, never go into Haruka-papa  
and Michiru-mama's room without knocking, especially if you hear sounds from inside.  
Go bother Setsuna-mama instead if there are sounds from their room, since her room  
never has any sounds," and, "If Haruka-papa says no, don't bother asking  
Michiru-mama. She never falls for that." By the time she was finished I thought  
I could find my way around in my sleep. No worries about getting lost on the way  
to breakfast after a tour like that.  
"Are there a lot of rules here I should know about?" I asked. "Like no  
running or playing ball in the house and don't put your feet on the furniture?"  
"Yeah, a few basic rules like that. Mostly common sense, though. As long  
as you try to be a good girl and keep your room clean and do what the grown-ups  
tell you, you'll be fine," Hotaru assured me.  
"I'm so nervous. Getting a new family is exciting enough, but a family of  
Sailor Senshi. . ."  
My new sister smiled and hugged me tightly. "Don't feel nervous, Nami-chan.  
We're just like any other girls most of the time. Just relax. Everyone loves you  
already, and you've got Haruka-papa wrapped around your little finger, so you've  
got nothing to worry about," she said. "Well, it's about time for us little girls  
to be in bed. Have you got anything to wear?"  
"Usually I just sleep in a tank top and panties. Is that all right?"  
"I don't think so. I'll let you borrow a set of my pajamas until you get  
some of your own, okay?"  
Hotaru took me into her room and selected a pair of lavender pajamas with  
feet she said might ne a little big, but would do for now, and I took off my  
Uranus fuku to try them on. The sleeves almost covered my hands and the only  
thing keeping the bottoms from flopping around was the elastic at the ankles, but  
I thanked her for the use of them anyway and returned downstairs to ask Mama and  
Papa to tuck me into bed.  
"Mama, Papa, Hotaru-chan let me borrow pajamas and I'm ready for bed!" I  
called.  
I didn't understand why everyone "aww"ed when I entered the room, since  
wearing outsize pajamas didn't make me feel kawaii, but maybe some grown-ups just  
have a weird sense of what's kawaii and that's why they liked it. Anyway, I  
decided to milk it for all it's worth.  
"Is it okay if I sleep with the kawaii Mama and Papa dollies Hotaru-chan  
gave me?"  
"Absolutely," Mama agreed, and retrieved them from where they still sat in  
the kitchen. She took off their tags and handed the dollies over, adding, "Just  
don't tell anyone else they're Mama and Papa dollies, all right? Remember, it's  
supposed to be a secret."  
"Okay, Mama," I replied cheerfully. "Let me get one more thing and I'll be  
ready." I rummaged through my duffel bag and emerged with a tattered old bear in  
a red scarf. "This is Mr. Sniffle, and he's my special bear. I've had him since  
I was a baby and sleep with him every night. Say hello, Mr. Sniffle." I made the  
bear wave to everyone, which brought out another round of "aww"ing. "Okay, I'm  
all ready for bed now."  
"Matte," Mama said, and waved me back over to take off the sapphire  
necklace and earrings I'd forgotten I was still wearing. "Did you remember to  
brush your teeth?"  
"No," I admitted. "Hold on." I found my toothbrush and gum-flavoured  
toothpaste in my bag and went back upstairs to brush my teeth, leaving my brush  
and paste in the washroom near my bedroom where I thought they belonged, then  
returned downstairs and announced, "Now I did. Ready to tuck me in yet?"  
"What did you do with the fuku you had on?"  
"I think I left it in Hotaru-chan's room. Hold on." I went back upstairs  
and retrieved it, put it in my own room, and returned downstairs. "I put it in  
my room. That's okay, right?"  
"Of course," Mama replied. "Are you tired enough to sleep yet or do you  
need another run up and down the stairs?"  
"I'm still excited, but I'll try to sleep anyway," I said. "Ready to tuck  
me in now?"  
"Tell everyone good-night first, Nami-chan. It's rude to leave your  
guests without saying good-night."  
I hugged and said good-night to all the guests, thanked them again for  
their gifts, and invited them to come back again any time. Then I gathered my  
Mama and Papa dollies and Mr. Sniffle, and waited for Mama and Papa to finish the  
coffee they'd been drinking, after which they finally decided to tuck me in bed.  
I was glad, because I didn't think I could've waited much longer. They excused  
themselves for a while and followed me up to my bedroom.  
Mama pulled back the blue cherub-on-cloud-printed sheets and I climbed in,  
setting my toys beside me before lying down myself. She pulled the sheets up and  
tucked me in securely, then tucked each of my toys in, too, and gave me a kiss on  
the forehead.  
"Good-night, little Nami-chan," she said sweetly. "I know you've had an  
exciting day, but try to calm down enough to get some sleep anyway, okay?"  
Papa also kissed me, but hers was on the nose, which made me giggle. She  
stroked my hair and said, "Good-night, little one. Go to sleep like a good girl  
and maybe tomorrow I'll take you to see my racecar, okay?"  
"Honto?" I asked excitedly. "And will you take my picture with it and  
everything?"  
"Nice going, Haruka, now she'll never get any sleep," Mama scolded.  
Papa shrugged. "She wouldn't have anyway and you know it."  
"Yeah, today has been the happiest day of my whole life!" I exclaimed.  
"I got a new family, lots of presents, a pretty new room, and I got to meet all  
the Sailor Senshi, and even found out my new family are all Sailor Senshi! Do you  
think that means I'll get to be a Sailor Senshi one day, too?"  
Papa shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe someday you really will. We have all the  
planets of the solar system covered by now, but who knows when we might need a  
Miranda or a Triton?"  
"Sailor Triton, yeah, I like the sound of that," I said. "That's who I'll  
be, and I'll have a pretty blue fuku just like my room, and my powers will be--"  
"That's quite enough for now," Mama said, putting a finger to my lips.  
"No sense in getting yourself all worked up like this at bedtime, Nami-chan. You  
can have all night to dream about this new Senshi of yours and tell us all about  
her in the morning."  
"Okay, Mama," I replied, and allowed myself a yawn. "Good-night, Senshi  
Mama and Papa. I love you."  
Mama turned out the light on their way out, but the bright moon shone  
through the window to cast a pleasant glow over the entire room.  
I watched the sky and listened to fragments of conversation from downstairs  
until I could no longer hold my eyes open, then drifted off into pleasant dreams  
of my new Sailor Senshi friends and family, and of the young Sailor in the sky-blue  
fuku I'd seen in Mama's mirror, Sailor Triton.  
  
  
©1999 Naia Zifu, all rights reserved.  
Unabara Nami, Kobayashi Urano, Ten'ou Kazashi and Masato, and that anal nun are my  
own original characters, but Haruka, Michiru, and all the other Inner and Outer  
Senshi are all SM characters that I don't own rights to, but as always, I'm not  
trying to make money off anyone else's ideas.  
This is the first of a little story mini-series. It has no banner title because I  
never knew what to call it, but I've decided to put it up without one and hope  
common sense will show how the stories fit together. The next two parts, which I  
guess will be put up whenever I can get around to typing them, are short and as  
nice (or at least to me) as this one, but they're semi-important linking parts, and  
the last part (yet to be finished) should be another pretty good one. Just please,  
no-one ask me when those will be up, because as always, I never know when I'll get  
up anything. Just. . .sometime this year, okay? *smirks* 


End file.
